You little thief, again?

Ye Jingtang left Skywater Bridge and rode Black Horse back to Dyeing Street, inspecting his left arm along the way.

Forcibly pulling back his attack had injured his left arm, but after Pei Xiangjun massaged it with medicinal ointment, no visible traces remained by noon.

He wasn't sure whether the injury had been too minor or the medicine too potent. Either way, its effects were rather outrageous, so he had specifically asked for two bottles to carry with him.

When he returned to Twin Osmanthus Alley, the old lane was utterly silent. Judging by the traces on the ground, the constables hadn't returned to patrol.

He led his horse to his front door and pushed it open. The courtyard had been tidied up, and the door to the main room stood open, but neither woman was inside.

Ye Jingtang thought they had left without saying goodbye and felt a little disappointed. But when he walked beneath the kitchen eaves, he saw a figure standing in the little kitchen he had never even opened.

She wore a green dress over long legs, its hem reaching her ankles, and shoes embroidered with bamboo leaves.

With her back to the window, she certainly knew he had come in, but she ignored him, wiping the rim of the rice jar with a hemp cloth.

As she bent slightly forward, her ink-black hair slid over her shoulders. Her dress was already close-fitting, and from behind, its sash cinched her waist into a slender span while the skirt traced a voluptuous curve through the old kitchen, her bottom like a green full moon at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

(⊙_⊙;)!

Ye Jingtang's gaze merely swept over her instinctively; he didn't stare.

But Luo Ning's senses were exceptionally keen. Detecting something amiss, she immediately straightened and turned toward the window, her gaze slightly cold.

Ye Jingtang was tying up his horse outside the window. He smiled. "How domestic of you, Lady Luo. You even tidied my kitchen?"

Finding nothing unusual, Luo Ning let the wariness fade from her brow, though her irritation remained.

"You're a grown man, and you look perfectly respectable, yet your house is a complete mess. Never mind firewood and grain-you don't even have a pot..."

"I only moved in yesterday. You can't blame me for that. Besides, this house is too shabby. I was already planning to find another place yesterday. There's no need to clean it."

?

Luo Ning paused. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Yunli and I spent half the day cleaning..."

"Well, since you've cleaned it, we might as well stay for now. The rent's already paid anyway."

Ye Jingtang entered the old kitchen with Niao Niao on his shoulder and glanced behind the stove.

"Where's that girl?"

Luo Ning shifted two steps sideways to keep her distance. "She went to buy you pots, bowls, ladles, and basins..."

As they spoke, Ye Jingtang took out a small porcelain bottle and offered it to her.

"What's this?"

"Medicine for injuries. I asked the escort agency's owner for it. It works exceptionally well. Want to try it?"

Luo Ning took the little bottle, opened it, and sniffed. "Jade Dragon Balm..." Her brow furrowed as she gave Ye Jingtang a suspicious look.

"This medicine comes from Sage Physician Li, the Medicine King. It's a miracle cure for internal injuries, impossible to buy on the open market. On the black market, it would fetch over a hundred taels of silver. Even if an escort agency in the Capital City had some, they'd save it to keep someone alive. Why would they give it to you for free?"

?!

Ye Jingtang inwardly stumbled at her words. When Third Lady had treated his arm that morning, she had slathered it on as though it cost nothing. He had assumed it was ordinary medicine.

Over a hundred taels of silver?

No wonder it worked so outrageously well...

Having already offered it, Ye Jingtang naturally wasn't going to take it back. He said generously:

"Consider it an advance on my wages. The sooner you recover and leave, Lady Luo, the sooner I'll be free. Take it and use it."

Hearing this, Luo Ning's gaze changed slightly.

"Are you stupid? Even injured, I have medicine of my own. Why should you work an entire year for nothing over this?"

"If you feel bad about it, Lady Luo, how about teaching me another move?"

Luo Ning had known that was what he was after. She handed the medicine back.

"Return it to your employer. You certainly know how to dream. Even a second-rate martial artist charges a hundred taels of fine silver to accept a disciple. You think one bottle of medicine will buy my supreme techniques? Hmph..."

Ye Jingtang naturally didn't take it. Folding his arms, he looked out toward the courtyard and teased:

"Ah, good thing I'm not a scoundrel."

"You're not a scoundrel? Yesterday, you..."

A blush rose on Luo Ning's lovely cheeks, and she scrubbed the jar harder.

Scrub, scrub-

Ye Jingtang said helplessly, "If I were a scoundrel, making you teach me martial arts would be far too easy. All I'd have to say is, 'Madam Luo, you wouldn't want what happened between us to reach your...'"

Shing-

Before he could finish, a cold gleam flashed through the old kitchen.

He had no idea where the three-foot blade had been drawn from. By the time it appeared, it was already at Ye Jingtang's neck.

Biting her lower lip, Luo Ning stared fixedly at him. Her face alternated between red and white, and crystalline moisture glimmered in her eyes, filled with utter disappointment, on the verge of spilling into two trails of tears.

"Chirp..."

Niao Niao timidly tucked in his neck and edged farther away.

Ye Jingtang remained calm, looking at the sword only half an inch from his neck.

"I was only giving an example. When you refused to teach me, all I did was try to flatter you. Have I ever treated you disrespectfully?"

"If you really were beyond saving, you would have died yesterday. You wouldn't have lived to see today."

Luo Ning stared at Ye Jingtang, her expression icy. "We both bear responsibility for yesterday. I won't hold it against you anymore, and you must never mention it again. If a third person hears of it, don't blame me for being ruthless..."

While Luo Ning was speaking with that chilling expression, a noise suddenly came from outside the alley.

Clatter-clatter-

It sounded like one person, with heavy footsteps and the scraping of metal, perhaps armor, running very fast...

Ye Jingtang frowned. Possessing armor privately is tantamount to treason. Anyone walking around in armor can only be from the authorities...

Luo Ning looked puzzled too. Recklessly leaping out of the courtyard could alert an expert. She looked at Ye Jingtang, intending to discuss what to do.

But the little thief before her remained unruffled in the face of danger and reacted remarkably fast. He grabbed her sword-bearing right hand, rushed out of the kitchen, and ran toward the main room.

"You?!"

Still wearing her icy expression, Luo Ning stumbled as he pulled her along. Her eyes widened in astonishment, and she felt as though the brat had been waiting for precisely this opportunity!

Luo Ning wanted to pull her hand free and stop, but she couldn't make too much noise. In that brief hesitation, he dragged her into the room.

The door was carefully shut. Afraid the little thief would pounce straight onto her, groping and kneading, Luo Ning swiftly raised her sword and warned him under her breath:

"You're not allowed to touch me. I'll do it myself!"

Ye Jingtang nodded, keeping a cautious eye on the window and signaling for her to play her part properly.

Relieved that he hadn't thrown himself onto her, Luo Ning sat primly on the edge of the bed. Her eyes full of distaste, she murmured:

"Mmm... mmm..."

Her voice held neither feeling nor skill, like a dead fish feigning pleasure with a man she disliked.

?!

Ye Jingtang's expression changed sharply. He hurriedly turned back and covered Lady Luo's mouth. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why are you messing around at a time like this?"

With her mouth covered, Luo Ning gave a violent shudder, then flew into a towering rage. She pried his hand away and glared viciously at him, her meaning apparently: I even played along and made the noises, and you're still touching me?!

From the look of her, she still had no idea what she had done wrong.

Ye Jingtang didn't know what to say to this woman. He signaled for Luo Ning to stay quiet, crouched beside the bed, and shook it hard.

Creak, creak...

The sounds of the old furniture rocking drifted faintly through the courtyard.

Soon, the footsteps in the alley slowed, followed by a familiar, soft call:

"Master's wife?"

The voice was full of suspicion!

Ye Jingtang's movements stiffened slightly, and he looked outside in bewilderment.

Luo Ning's anger likewise vanished, replaced by alarm. She hurriedly pushed Ye Jingtang away from where he crouched before her and stood up.

Creeeak-

At the same moment, the courtyard gate swung open.

Ye Jingtang peered through the crack in the door and saw a pile of objects carefully walking inside.

Its exact appearance was hard to describe. Roughly speaking, an iron pot sat upside down on top, with bedding underneath. The bedding rested on several stools, with pots, bowls, ladles, and basins dangling around them. A section of skirt showed at the very bottom, and as it walked, the cookware knocked together with a "clatter-clatter-."

Zhe Yunli turned slightly and poked her fresh, pretty face out from behind the pile. Her expression was exceedingly strange as she stole glances toward the room. What was Master's wife doing...?

Luo Ning knew Zhe Yunli had heard the bed creaking and had no idea how to explain it. As she stood at a loss, a sharp pinch hurt her arm.

She turned to look. The shameless little thief was crouching beside the bed, pretending to repair it and signaling for her to speak.

Luo Ning caught on and quickly said:

"Yunli, you're back?"

Hearing Luo Ning's voice, Zhe Yunli secretly sighed in relief. She quickened her steps and carried the things into the kitchen, asking in puzzlement:

"Master's wife, what are you doing? Why did I hear the bed rocking just now? I think you even went 'mmm, mmm' a couple of times..."

"I..."

Luo Ning's face flushed scarlet. She wanted nothing more than to chop this little thief apart with her sword and had no idea how to cover for herself.

Crouching at the head of the bed, Ye Jingtang remained composed. He shook the bed a few times.

"The bed's loose. I'm fixing it. I was talking to your master's wife just now."

"Huh? Why are you back so early?"

Zhe Yunli stopped, looking suspiciously at the closed door.

Ye Jingtang stood, went to the entrance, and opened the door.

"There wasn't much to do outside, so I came back. I only just got home too. Why did you buy so many things?"

Seeing that Ye Jingtang's clothes were neat and nothing seemed amiss, Zhe Yunli secretly sighed in relief.

"What would we use if I didn't buy them?"

As she spoke, she set the assorted objects on the chopping board, only to discover a large white bird in the rice jar, pressing down on a hemp cloth with his claws and doing housework as though life held nothing more for him.

Zhe Yunli's eyes lit up. Instantly forgetting the matter of a man and woman repairing a bed behind closed doors, she leaned over the rice jar to look.

"Hey! This bird can even wipe the jar?"

"Chirp..."

Niao Niao hopped onto the rim of the rice jar, dropped the cloth into Fried Egg's hand, then sprawled on the chopping board, looking as though he meant, "Niao Niao's exhausted..."